Discussions on various subjects ranging from water conservation, weight loss, overall health, legal issues and questions and anything else that tickles my fancy.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sorry guys, I lost track of time, forgot that YESTERDAY was MONDAY, not today. All the same, welcome to your weekly installment of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits, even though it is a day late...

Let's get right into the fun... tonight we are going to find fun facts about places around the world:

The smallest "country" in the world to have its own top-level domain name is Norfolk Island, off the coast of Australia.

If you love traveling and monkeys, Gibraltar is the only place in Europe where you can find wild monkeys (we are not looking at elementary schools...)

For those of you who believe that we are Always at war, it is interesting to note that the shortest war ever recorded lasted only 38 minutes (Britain versus Zanzibar, in 1896). Don't know why we can't have short wars like that again...heck, I have have known couples to have arguments longer than 38 minutes...

In 1892, Italy raised the minimum age for marriage for girls to a whopping 12 years old...wow, old maids...

In light of all the news regarding the latest hurricane, did you know that New York City has 570 miles of shoreline? That is one of the reasons why there was such concern about the hurricane hitting New York City straight on.

If you have ever traveled to the Amazon jungle, there are up to 3,000 species of trees that have been cataloged within on square mile. That is a major amount of diversity...

Do you know what the original purpose of the (now) leaning tower of Pisa? It was originally designed as a bell tower. Guess that got thrown out when the tower started leaning....hard to ring a bell that is almost sideways.

Did you know that more Siberian tigers live in zoos than in the wild?

Brazoria County in Southeast Texas is the only county in the United States and Canada to have every kind of poisonous snake found in those two countries.

And lastly, for those of you who HATE snakes and all those cold-blooded critters, the only continent without any reptiles or snakes is Antarctica.

Have a wonderful week. Hopefully you enjoyed this weekly update of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. Until Thursday (since I am off by a day, might as well continue to be off this week...)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!! Bet you thought I wouldn't be here tonight...HA had you fooled didn't I? Since I have been seriously challenged lately, I thought that tonight would provide a great opportunity to talk about some motivational techniques so that you too can possibly get more things done. Welcome to my Motivational Wednesday...

Since Wednesdays are typically the middle of a "standard" work week, many people have also called Wednesday's "hump-days". Wednesdays are a bit tough because you have struggled for two days to get here, but then the good news is that you only have 2 more days to the weekend. Since I personally do have trouble with motivation on Wednesdays (in particular...) I have started once again to pick up some motivational techniques so that I can get through the day and accomplish all the tasks I do have on my list, that I REALLY didn't want to finish. You all know THOSE tasks, the ones that NEED to be done, but you don't want to do them? (that is not to say I don't enjoy writing this Blog, I just noticed that I am seriously lacking in motivation all day on Wednesdays...)

One way to stay motivated is to reduce boredom and to understand what it is you do that may make you particularly bored. Being bored is a great way to lose motivation.... Being bored makes the day appear to go slower, being bored can easily lead to over-eating and being bored can make you grumpy. Identify what makes you bored and strive to eliminate that boredom. The real challenge comes when there is a task or core that you MUST do but it is supremely boring. The key here is to identify that task, and get it done as quickly as possible, because the more you put it off (because it is soooo darned boring) the more you will not get anything else done either. Boredom can really kill any motivation. If you know what your triggers are for boring tasks, find ways to avoid those triggers, even while completing that task. This is not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but once you master it, you can make those boring chores a lot easier to deal with. They may still be boring, but you have learned to cope with that. Personally, I strive to get the really boring tasks done as fast as possible...sort of like taking nasty medicine. Get it done fast and then reward yourself for a job well done....works for me.

Another trick to keep motivation up is to switch tasks so you don't get too bored doing one task. Strive to work on a few small, easy tasks and use them to break up what could be a long, drawn-out and possibly boring task. Pick up those small tasks when you are almost at your wits end when working on that big project. The little tasks completed will provide you a great sense of accomplishment and will help to keep you motivated to finish that large project you were working on. Also, buy taking a break from one project, and completing another, when you return to the original project at hand, you may find solutions that you didn't realized existed. Taking a break provides you with the opportunity to take a fresh look at an old task.

Lastly, to stay motivated and on task, remember to reward yourself for a job well done. You don't need to go to extremes, but if there is something small that you really like doing, reward yourself with whatever that is after you complete a task, even a boring task. By rewarding yourself for a job well done, you create a positive habit that will assist you in staying motivated and completing other projects. You could even look forward to completing tasks so that you can gather your own personal reward. This small reward could be as simple as a small cup of ice cream, or playing a quick game, or even taking a relaxing shower or swim. You can then be motivated to quickly complete your project so that you can reap your reward.

Hopefully some of these tips will help you to stay on task, remain motivated and finish those projects that have been dogging you for the longest time.

If I don't talk to you on Friday, have a great weekend and we will chat again on Monday.

Monday, August 22, 2011

HA!!! Bet you thought that I wouldn't be posting again...HA, HA. Well I even surprised myself with this post. I made a promise to all of you and myself, and I am working very, very hard to maintain that promise. Granted, I have been physically unable to post daily since last week, but at least I am getting Mondays down. I will post again this Wednesday, since I really believe I will not have time to post tomorrow....

Anyway, tonight is the weekly update for Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. As you are aware, I started tracking these silly little items over a year ago to help resolve some of the Monday doldrums. Hopefully these little known factoids are fun to share with friends and family, or better yet, you can use them to torment others who HATE trivia!! Oh what fun!!!

Especially on Mondays, do you find that you have a terrible time waking up or staying awake? How many cups of coffee did you drink to even start to get those heavy eye-lids up and that sluggish brain to start plodding along? Did you know that apples are better at waking a person up than even caffeine? Something to think about when you don't want your stomach torn up with all that acid from the coffee...

Now that we are starting to consider autumn in some parts of the country (not here, but somewhere...) did you know that oak trees do not produce acorns until they are 50 years old or older? And you thought waiting until you were 21 to drink took a long time...

For those of you who are still celebrating summer and the requisite mosquitoes.... did you know that mosquito repellent really doesn't "repel" mosquitoes? The repellents actually hid you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you are there (that is until you find one and squish it...)

Do you know the origins of the name of the soda drink, 7-Up? When this citrus soda was created in 1929, the original containers were on 7 ounces. The word 'UP' indicated the direction the bubbles went....

Do you ever wonder why the radio operators were called Ham radio operators? It is not because they "hammed" it up on the radio. The term "ham" was derived from the "ham-fisted" operators", which described the early radio users who sent Morse code (they pounded their fists when hitting all those dots and dashes...)

Here is something to bother your friends with - only one-third of the people that can twitch their ears, can twitch only one at a time.

Did you know that the term "the Boogey Man will get you" comes from the Boogey people, who still inhabit an area of Indonesia? These people still act as pirates today and attack ships that pass. Therefore, the phrase spread, "if you don't watch out, the Boogey man will get you."

Lastly, for those of you still wishing for the weekend, and really wanting a beer - in medieval England, beer was often served with breakfast. Now that could really put a good spin on your day... ;-)

Hopefully you have enjoyed yet another installment of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. I will be posting again this Wednesday, so in the meantime, have a wonderful Tuesday and don't forget to torment your friends and family with some of these useless tidbits of useless trivia.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Welcome again to the weekly (not weakly) edition of Fun Facts and Trivial Tidbits. Granted, it has been some time since our last installment, this week's information should keep you generally entertained.

How many of you, while at work, may wander by the vending machine to either get something out of it, or to stare at it wistfully hoping something in there will not make you gain weight? Well, did you know that more than 10 people a year are killed by vending machines? Really... so don't get too close to that machine, you might be one of those 10 for this year...

Thinking about losing weight? Talking about those killer vending machines didn't do the trick? Did you know that if you smell (not eat) bananas or green apples (or both it the mood strikes) can help you to lose weight? Try it, and don't eat the banana or green apple...

For some of you women out there, have you ever commented on your 'guy' spending soooo much time in the bathroom? Did you ever take note of HOW much time is spent in there? For some reason, it seems that guys like to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. If asked, some of them claim it is the only place they can get peace and quiet. Some believe it is a great reading room. Well, someone with a bunch of time on their hands has calculated that the average person spends 3 years of their life on the toilet. Geezz...my legs would have fallen asleep long before then...

In light of that little trivial tidbit, did you know that each year there are more than 40,000 toilet related injuries in the U.S. Most likely from all those numb legs after spending so much time sitting on the toilet...

Do you have a friend whose sole goal in life is to get as many shoes as possible? Did you know that almost 29% of women spend more time looking for shoes than looking for a life partner? Heck, at least shoes don't talk back and if you get tired of them, you can throw them in a box and give them to a charity. Can't do that (legally) with a life partner.... go figure.

Therefore it makes sense that 40% of women have hurled footwear at men.

While at work, how many times does that darned copier break down? For us, it happens quite a bit. I think we have now figured out why the copier mis-behaves... 23% of all copier faults are caused by people sitting on them and copying their rear-ends. And you wondered why the glass was smudged...

And lastly, you know we have come a long way. If you wanted your picture taken (not on a copy machine) by the very first camera, you would have had to sit still for 8 hours. Makes copy machines a little better to deal with (even if they do break often...)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Hello one and all. Bet you thought I would never poke my head out of my hidey hole... Well, here I am, almost back in the saddle. Tonight is going to be a brief, wandering chat, nothing too difficult and really, I do promise to get back to regular posting...

I realize I don't have to explain myself, but feel it is the right thing to do... Since the economy has been SOOOO stinky, I did go out and get a short-term job. The problem is that this "short-term" job turned into a major job that then turned into major hours and weekend work. Not quite what I had originally signed on for. The problem has been that I have had to drag my tired butt home every day after 10-12 hours working both in a warehouse and on a computer. Needless to say, I had zero energy to even want to eat dinner let alone talk to you guys about anything.

My mother taught me a great lesson, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. So...three guesses why you haven't heard from me in a Looonnng time? I have now re-screwed my head back on straight and will carve time out of my evenings to at least chat with you all again. I truly have missed talking with you and after reviewing my old posts, needed to take my own commentary and advice to heart.

So, here I am talking once again and hopefully you all can forgive my disappearance and allow me to redeem myself by writing more consistently.

Tonight, I was sitting on the back porch, enjoying the lightning show in the distance. It has cooled down a bit here, all the way down to 102. A nice breeze has kicked up and it was overall a pleasant evening until I happened to look down. As I was sitting comfortably in my outside chair, what did I see, but a BIG BLACK HAIRY thing skulking around right under my chair. My first reaction was to get all body parts as high in the air as possible. Then I looked again to see this SPIDER slowly wandering around under my chair.

I then realized I was trying to fly, feet, and hands were waving around in the air, but it did nothing to lift me any higher from that BIG SPIDER. After my initial shock though, I realized it was most likely a tarantula (still not sure because my eyes were not adjusted too well to the dark, I was watching lightning, so I was still somewhat night-blind. After my eyes adjusted to the dark better, I did confirm I was looking at a tarantula. Then I carefully watched where it was walking and was able to put my sandeled feet back on the ground. I quickly ran to the back door, flung it open grabbed the dogs and locked them in the bedroom. I then flicked on the back porch light, verified the tarantula was still there and ran to get my camera.

So now you see what I saw, and you have a pretty good idea how big this male Arizona Blonde Tarantula is... the tiles are 6"x6". Pretty cool.

Anyway, this guy was subsequently picked up and placed on a bush OUTSIDE the fenceline so the dogs would not hurt or bother it. So all's well that end's well.

That's all the fun for tonight. I will be back tomorrow for a brief chat...PROMISE!!!